July 10 – Stickers stuck on cars

Stickers stuck on cars
stuck on with satisfaction
now just want it off

What is the motivation that drives a person to stick a 50 cent sticky piece of paper on their car?

My favorite sticker (Fat Matt’s gave it to me once when I asked, after a purchase being ‘approved’ and I asked, ‘Can I have a sticker that says I WAS APPROVED AT FAT MATTS?’ – But its not on my car!

When they stepped back to admire their work, how much satisfaction did they feel that they were now identified to the world by their honor roll student, their favorite team, their running prowess or the last person they voted for.

Then the next term, their honor roll student flakes out.

Their team loses.

They blow out a knee on their last 13.1.

The person they voted for, well, didn’t work out.

They remove the sticker, or at least, try to remove the sticker.

Consider the original message.

I am proud of my student.

I love my team.

See how far I can run.

All the way with LBJ!

Now consider the message of a faded, torn, ragged edged, frayed and half removed sticker.

My kid didn’t make it this year.

Stupid team, stupid coach.

Haven’t run for awhile, blew out my knee.

If you vote for a clown, better expect a circus.

My question is, which message is louder?

Which message will last longer?

Think about this the next time the sticker is fresh in your hands.

June 25 – Traffic, like weather

Traffic, like weather,
everyone talks about it
no one does nothing

Past Spaghetti Junction, the GDOT Alert Signs warned 4 lanes blocked due to a car fire on I85 at GA400.

I85 at GA400 is also the location of my exit.

It wasn’t the best of times but it wasn’t the worst of times.

I was able to negotiate (great way to explain driving in Atlanta – you don’t drive as much as you negotiate) my way to my exit.

The last half mile took 6 minutes at 5 miles per hour.

But I got here.

From my office window I can see the traffic still stopped and hear the helicopters overhead.

Brings the joke to mind, “If you put all the cars in the world end to end what would you have?”

“ATLANTA!”

AND,

“Traffic Engineers can’t fix traffic, but they can spread it out over a larger area.”

June 19 – Stopped by stoplight

Stopped by stoplight.
Short delay to my commute.
Did it change my life?

Had the crew of the RMS Titanic been told , on April 10, 1912, the future location of the iceberg, where it would be on the night of April 14, 1912 and had their instructions been to hit it, it would have been a feat of navigation.

Over the four days of the ship’s maiden voyage, had there been any reduction or increase in speed or delay in response to a course change or had any one of a number of details caused the Titanic to be a few minutes faster or slower, the history of the world would have been different.

This can be said about almost anything, everyday, everywhere.

Was my day changed?

Was my life changed?

Because I was stopped by a stoplight?

“What do you think the mutineers will do, sir, when they sight
us?” asked Freeman.

The fact that Hornblower had unbent enough to give an ex-
planation of why he wanted to go about must have encouraged
Freeman to this familiarity; Hornblower was irritated, but most
of all because he had no thoughts on the matter.

“There’s no profit in asking questions which time will surely
answer, Mr Freeman” he said, tartly.

“Yet speculation is a fascinating thing, Sir Horatio” replied
Freeman, so unabashed that Hornblower stared at him in the
darkness.

FROM Lord Hornblower by CS Forester

June 7 – woke up, no headache

woke up, no headache
no stomach ache, feeling good
of course its raining

While Georgia’s driving skills in snow (non existent, just stay home) are well documented, it is not as well known that when in rains down, Georgia drivers forget how to drive.

Drivers in Georgia are taught from youth to NOT DRIVE in snow and never drive over ice (it might blow up or something, just don’t do it).

They are somewhat prepared for snow and ice.

Rain, however, throws them for a loop and they forget how to drive.

Why they is just as happy as a fox in the hen house to put their emergency blinkers on, drive 45mph and lock on to that spot on the freeway until the rain stops.

It’s an odd phenomena and has to be experience both to be believed and understood.

What with non Georgia drivers skittering all over the freeway, dodging the slow moving Georgians and all the emergency flashers going, its like driving on the surface of a pin ball machine.

Which does lead to accidents.

I counted about 11 accidents just this morning.

Rain.

Ruins my day before its starts.

June 3 – Sunrise commuting

Sunrise commuting.
Wonder of I85
revealed. So ugly!

Making my commute for the 1st time after a week off.

School is out and the sun is up.

No school buses in the way or taking up valuable freeway space.

And plenty of sunlight so I can see the wonder that is I85.

It might be an engineering marvel that allows so many people to drive so many cars to so many jobs to earn so little money to make payments on such expensive cars.

But it sure is ugly.

How bad is I85?

Here is an excerpt from a recent GRIDLOCK GUY column from the Atlanta Journal Constitution –

I85 in Gwinnett [was] plain cursed [last week]

By Doug Turnbull, For the AJC

Have you ever had one of those days? That’s rhetorical, because everyone has. Nothing seems to go right and the problems happen in succession. Then those trials cause more issues. Before you know it, you’re saddled with an inconceivable and seemingly insurmountable entanglement of logistical (and probably emotional) baggage. Come sit on your therapist’s couch next to I-85 in Gwinnett County.

Bad traffic is not a new story on the Atlanta roads, but seeing so many outlier, unusual problems in the same place is both serendipitous and unsettling. Sometimes this stuff just happens and sometimes recurring conditions cause the problems. Either way, I-85 commuters, this wasn’t your week. Drive carefully and better luck next time.